high school course selection - looking ahead of college apps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you think your kid will want to pursue a stem related major, make sure they get on the honors math track by 9th. If seeking highly selective schools, Having rigor in math helps if applying for engineering, business, and other stem majors. I also don't think u need rigor in everything. Focus on your kids strengths and interests. And do very well in those areas. It worked for us.

Take the most rigorous available at your school. Within reason, it really doesn't matter. At lots of super elite schools that means calc as a senior, and that is perfectly fine. Don't get caught up in the rat race of the people who think you absolutely have to take calc in the womb. Those schools are doing their students a disservice. No huge rush.

I agree! At our private, the math honors track kids take calculus as seniors and these kids get into all the top schools schools.

And they are not "bored." And they are actually usually smarter than the suburban public school kids taking calc in 9th or 10th grade whose parents have bumper stickers showing this off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to prominent consultants like Sara Harberson, for competitive schools it is necessary to take 4 years of an Ancient or World Language.

This is school dependent. Some schools like UVA say they want language all the way through. Others seem ok without it. My kid just got into a school with a low admit rate without a language all the way through. He filled his schedule with AP STEM courses instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's helpful, thanks. So, would an 11th grader would do both AP Bio and (first year, not AP) Physics in the same year?

Honestly, I think AP Bio and Physics 1 in the same year is doable. It's an introductory physics class, so if your kid does the homework and actually studies, it’s very manageable. Plus, doing that lets you take Physics C Mech/E&M senior year.

What do you drop to have room in the schedule for two sciences in the same year? You still need math, English, history, language, and potentially stats, computer science, or something similar, plus if they are in band, visual arts, or something like that.

In our case the language dropped

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's helpful, thanks. So, would an 11th grader would do both AP Bio and (first year, not AP) Physics in the same year?

Honestly, I think AP Bio and Physics 1 in the same year is doable. It's an introductory physics class, so if your kid does the homework and actually studies, it’s very manageable. Plus, doing that lets you take Physics C Mech/E&M senior year.

What do you drop to have room in the schedule for two sciences in the same year? You still need math, English, history, language, and potentially stats, computer science, or something similar, plus if they are in band, visual arts, or something like that.

You drop something like visual arts.
My DD took 2 languages from 8th grade thru 12th so she never really had room for many other electives

Disagree. There are diminishing returns to huge overloads. If a kid was doing arts they are better off sticking with it than taking an overload academically.

The "drop lunch, arts, gym, etc." mentality goes with the "take 18 APs" mentality. All of these parents, largely at suburban public schools, get brainwashed into this way of thinking. And I'm sure it has worked for some kids. But I am fairly sure the colleges don't care and aren't impressed. And your kids will be a lot happier without it.

No, what you're describing is extreme and it does happen and I have seen it, but taking 2 languages and not taking band or ceramics is not quite the same thing at all.

Disagree. If two kids have the same six highly rigorous core classes and one takes band/orchestra/fine arts as their 7th and the other takes a second language or extra science or something like that, most colleges will not look at them any differently.

Well you are wrong there, sorry. My DD is the 2 languages kid and she graduated HS in 2025. She was absolutely seen differently by AOs(I had 2 kids in the same grade, almost but not quite academically equal). She was a candidate for places like Oxford and Brown which her sibling just was not. She got those acceptances and he didn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's helpful, thanks. So, would an 11th grader would do both AP Bio and (first year, not AP) Physics in the same year?

Honestly, I think AP Bio and Physics 1 in the same year is doable. It's an introductory physics class, so if your kid does the homework and actually studies, it’s very manageable. Plus, doing that lets you take Physics C Mech/E&M senior year.

What do you drop to have room in the schedule for two sciences in the same year? You still need math, English, history, language, and potentially stats, computer science, or something similar, plus if they are in band, visual arts, or something like that.

You drop something like visual arts.
My DD took 2 languages from 8th grade thru 12th so she never really had room for many other electives

Disagree. There are diminishing returns to huge overloads. If a kid was doing arts they are better off sticking with it than taking an overload academically.

The "drop lunch, arts, gym, etc." mentality goes with the "take 18 APs" mentality. All of these parents, largely at suburban public schools, get brainwashed into this way of thinking. And I'm sure it has worked for some kids. But I am fairly sure the colleges don't care and aren't impressed. And your kids will be a lot happier without it.

No, what you're describing is extreme and it does happen and I have seen it, but taking 2 languages and not taking band or ceramics is not quite the same thing at all.

Disagree. If two kids have the same six highly rigorous core classes and one takes band/orchestra/fine arts as their 7th and the other takes a second language or extra science or something like that, most colleges will not look at them any differently.

Well you are wrong there, sorry. My DD is the 2 languages kid and she graduated HS in 2025. She was absolutely seen differently by AOs(I had 2 kids in the same grade, almost but not quite academically equal). She was a candidate for places like Oxford and Brown which her sibling just was not. She got those acceptances and he didn't.

You sure do seem to have a lot of confidence in your expertise on this matter. I do not think that a kid taking a second language senior year will be seen as being ahead of a kid who consistently did band or orchestra or arts (even if just at an average level) throughout high school. I am fairly certain of this. Though unlikely you, I am not 100% certain. Because there is nothing certain about this process.

Kids from my child's very good but not great private school routinely get into Ivies just taking the normal core classes at the highest level (the school doesn't have APs), nothing super accelerated, no extra classes, unhooked. The obsessive panic of the DMV public school people here is off the charts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's helpful, thanks. So, would an 11th grader would do both AP Bio and (first year, not AP) Physics in the same year?

Honestly, I think AP Bio and Physics 1 in the same year is doable. It's an introductory physics class, so if your kid does the homework and actually studies, it’s very manageable. Plus, doing that lets you take Physics C Mech/E&M senior year.

What do you drop to have room in the schedule for two sciences in the same year? You still need math, English, history, language, and potentially stats, computer science, or something similar, plus if they are in band, visual arts, or something like that.

You drop something like visual arts.
My DD took 2 languages from 8th grade thru 12th so she never really had room for many other electives

Disagree. There are diminishing returns to huge overloads. If a kid was doing arts they are better off sticking with it than taking an overload academically.

The "drop lunch, arts, gym, etc." mentality goes with the "take 18 APs" mentality. All of these parents, largely at suburban public schools, get brainwashed into this way of thinking. And I'm sure it has worked for some kids. But I am fairly sure the colleges don't care and aren't impressed. And your kids will be a lot happier without it.

Exactly this. Stop the insanity.